New to some and familiar to others, here are five Badgers to watch this fall, poised to make major contributions to their respective teams.
An unfamiliar face to many UW faithful, sophomore quarterback John Stocco is the new leader for the Badger offense and must now tackle one of the most scrutinized roles on the entire football team.
After redshirting his freshman year, the Richfield, Minn., native notched his first collegiate action during the final three games of last season versus Michigan State, Iowa and then finally Auburn in the Music City Bowl.
The 6'2\ signal caller has completed 10 of 17 passes for 123 yards in his limited experience but his potential and athletic ability helped get him the starting job this past spring.
Forget what they say about the sophomore slump, because after the freshman campaign for midfielder Kara Kabellis, the sky is the limit for this young star on the Badger women's soccer team.
Kabellis started all 21 matches in her first season at UW and notched six goals and three assists en route to being named as the team freshman MVP and to the 2003 All-Big Ten freshman team.
In just the first game of the season, Kabellis scored two goals as UW routed Ohio 6-0 at the Kentucky Invitational.
A tri-captain for the 2004 UW men's soccer team, senior midfielder/forward Nick Van Sicklen is the team's two-time reigning offensive MVP after tallying 15 points on six goals and three assists in 20 games last season.
The Madison, Wis., native received second team All-Big Ten honors last season, after being selected as a member of the first team in 2002. In 2002, Van Sicklen scored seven goals and collected five assists for 19 points, with team highs in both goals scored and total points on the UW squad.
Most noteworthy, however, is his ability to put together stretches of a couple weeks where he consistently produces, as evident in 2002 when he tallied a goal and an assist in each of the first three weekends of the season (six games).
One of several former or current UW athletes to compete in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, senior swimmer Adam Mania returns for his senior season fresh off representing Poland at the Olympic games.
Mania is the school record-holder in the 100 and 200 backstroke, the 200 individual medley and the 200 and 400 freestyle relays. In addition, Mania is an eight-time all-American honorable mention selection.
The Hickman, Neb., native is looking to improve on a 2003-'04 season where his best finish at the NCAA championships was fourth in the 200-meter medley relay team.
It is not often that a freshman athlete makes a huge splash on campus in their first season, however, setter Jackie Simpson is one of a handful of first-year Badgers likely to play significant minutes for head coach Pete Waite's volleyball squad.
From Downers Grove, Ill., Simpson joined the Badgers in 2004 and then practiced and competed with the team during the 2004 spring season. During her senior year in high school, she was named a PrepVolleyball.com All-American, 2003 first team all-state by Chicago Tribune and Champaign News Gazette and the 2003 Player of the Year by the Reporter/Progress-Suburban Life. In 2002, she helped lead her high school team to the Illinois State AA championship earning all-state and all-state tournament recognition.
